Ryda sees Unit 16 go down in a barrage of attacks and gulps down a bit of bile she hadn't realized rose into her throat. She then unleashes a stream of arrows from her bow, some striking true, and others way off the mark. She then runs over near Jarren and ducks behind some cover, hoping it will slow down the beast long enough for another round of shooting before it tries to find out what she taste's like.
Two of the arrows pierce the toughened hide of the beast, but the other two graze off of it.
Jarren bares his teeth in a silent snarl as the sickening sound of rending metal reaches him from the Owlbear's onslaught on Susan. Surging with adrenaline, Jarren breaks cover to take up a supporting position behind his beleaguered Warforged ally, whilst his serpent companion blinks out of existence momentarily and reappears in front of the Owlbear.
Jarren's eyes glaze over as he begins murmuring, chanting softly, and the feathered serpent takes on a golden radiance as he uses it as a conduit for spiritual energies of renewal and regeneration. A scent of warm, moist earth fills the air and, through the encroaching darkness, Susan can feel a warm and comforting presence lending him strength.
The guttural chant grows louder, and Jarren throws his arms out and his head back as he calls upon the intervention of more powerful spirits. Suddenly he is drenched with water, and the clearing is filled with a thundering roar as of a great wave crashing over them, sweeping all impurities before it. The primal torrent rages and crashes over the Owlbear, buffeting it furiously. As the spirits recede they leave a lingering presence with his allies, a surging tide of tangible, buoying energy.
Unit 16 wakes with a start and panics for a moment. Looking around, he realizes he was only out for a few seconds. Seeing that his companions are ok and that he is the only one currently being hugged tightly by the owlbear, he relaxes.
"Impressive..." he manages to squeak out.
"I see you, too... will not go down without a fight." And for the first time, a slight smile creeps across Unit 16's face.
"But now we have you... exactly where we want you... and you will face only me!"
Suddenly, some of the metal panels open on Unit 16's back and legs, and strange whirring sounds emanate from his body. The heat is rapidly pulled from the air around him, and a thick layer of hard, crystalline ice forms all over his body and shield. Additionally, tiny stalagmites of sharp ice begin to form on the ground all around him, along with a layer of snow. His hammer also transforms slightly, increasing in size and forming spikes along its edge.
Unit 16 shouts and raises his hammer above his head, and it is suddenly encased in ice. He swings it in a wide arc toward his foe.... And misses.
Perturbed but undaunted, 16 thrusts his shield forward and a blast of cold air issues forth, knocking the creature back slightly and breaking its hold on 16.
Finally, Unit 16 screams and panels open all over his body: metal bracings jut out and angle themselves to deflect incoming blows; pieces of his shield disengage and expand to cover a huge area; his form increases slightly in size and his feet widen and expand to lower his center of gravity - he is now less of a humanoid and more of a giant ice beast composed of metal and armor. Strained whirring noises sound from inside his body, and for the first time the raging blue glow of the mark on his shield arm is clearly visible. Additionally, a regenerative process begins and the gashes on his neck rapidly begin to weave themselves back together, flesh connecting with metal and wood, closing up his wounds and stopping the blood from escaping.
"Hit me now, creature!" Unit 16 screams at the beast.
As the owlbear looks at you angrily, its head tilting nearly 90 degrees at you as it studies the situation, a flurry of activity is seen from the north. A trio of bird-like humanoids emerge from behind the trees scattered there.
"Get'im they got some shiny lookin' gear. It'll bring in a fortune!" the middle one calls out as it takes to the air, hovering 20' off the ground. It points a rod at Unit 16 and a flock of spectral crows appears and assaults the warforged causing some minor wounds. The other two move towards you, giving the large creature a wide berth, they carry daggers.
[sblock=ooc]
Kenku 12 - uses Murder of Crows on U16
vs ref; force dmg (1d20 10=25, 1d6 4=5) 5 dmg and you grant CA to it (save ends0). The other 2 double move[/sblock]
The owlbear shrieks again and steps forward, and slashes twice at the warforged, but this time neither strike affects him.
[sblock=ooc]
vs ac; dmg (1d20 12=27, 2d6 5=12, 1d20 12=13, 2d6 5=16) It can't know that you're nearly unhittable
[/sblock]
[sblock=Unlocked Monster Stats]
Owlbear - Ref is higher than 16, AC is lower than 24, but higher than 20, Fort is higher than 19 - used AP
Others - ???
[/sblock]
[sblock=ooc]
Initiative:
26 - Enemies
12 - Ryda
5 - Jarren
17 - Unit 16 (new initiative from readied action) - 33/57 - regen 2 when bloodied, +2 AC, Resist 5 cold, zone 2 of DT around Unit 16, +4 weapon damage + a million AC, etc from second wind... grant CA to Kenku 12 (save ends0)
init (Unit 16, Jarren, Ryda, enemies) (1d20 3=17, 1d20 4=5, 1d20 7=12, 1d20 6=26)[/sblock]
[/sblock]
He can't keep this level of AC up forever, but generally he can boost his AC every round. Also: not that you would, but 16 doesn't care or mind if you shoot him - he understands superior tactics trump personal injury and he'd never be offended. In fact, he'd make the same trade every time. Beating the enemy is more tactically important because you can always heal later - at least, that's what he's been trained. (And having an endless font of healing surges biases him in that regard.) (Again, not that you would, but in any case I don't think you can attack an ally to trigger the power: it's the "bag of rats" rule.)
